The present invention relates generally to blind-matable connection between connector parts, for example when inserting a electronics carrying drawer into a cabinet, electrically connecting the electronics to wiring carried in and by the cabinet. More particularly, the invention relates to a system capable for establishing alignment for blind-matable connection of the parts of multiple, separate connectors.
Some electronics systems today are packaged so that modular portions of the electronics can be easily removably inserted into the system. For example, mass storage systems for digital computing systems are often in the form of multiple magnetic media units (e.g., disk drive units), each mounted in drawers that are removably inserted in a cabinet. Communication between the electronics carried in the drawer and remainder of the electronics system is typically established by a drawer to cabinet interface in the form of connectors having mating connector parts.
This drawer to cabinet interface is often one that preferably permits removable connection of the drawer so that the electronic apparatus carried or contained by the drawer can be quickly and easily replaced or other accessed for maintenance and the like. Thus, the mating of the drawer to the cabinet at this interface would preferably be blind (i.e., blind-matable) so that one need only insert the drawer into the cabinet in a way that permits the connector parts to move into mating connection with no special effort. One method of ensuring such blind-matable connection is to mount the connector parts to the backwall or backplane of the cabinet, and to the backwall of the drawer, so that when the drawer is inserted into the cabinet, an initial alignment is established by, for example, guide rails mounted in the cabinet upon which the drawer slides. As the drawer is moved further into the cabinet, the respective backwalls of the drawer and the cabinet brought into confronting proximate relation, the pre-aligned connector parts are mated. The problem with this technique is that the connector parts of each drawer must be aligned and correctly positioned for each corresponding connector part of the cabinet. A drawer aligned for one cabinet connector part most likely will not align with another connector part on the cabinet unless the two connector parts are compatibly aligned to one another.
There is a blind-matable system, similar to that to which the present invention is directed, which does allow drawers to be inserted in different drawer-receiving cavities of a cabinet without need for checking the alignment compatibility. However, such systems limit the blind-matable connection to alignment of the parts of a single connector or a singular connector with modular forms. If more than one connector is to be used at the drawer-cabinet interface, each must be provided with an alignment system. An example of such an alignment system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,833.